Alpine Celebration Concept Set For 2016

Renault has revealed they are set to relaunch their Alpine brand with a new mid-engined sports car, which is due to be released in 2016. It was shown off at the recent Le Mans 24 Hour race and this new Alpine Celebration shows some clear aesthetic similarities to older models such as the A110 Berlinetta. This new Celebration model is set to cost around £50,000.

The Celebration is expected to be based on Alpine and Caterham’s work from 2012, although there have been no technical specifications released as of yet. Renault did say in 2014 that they would continue to use the technology developed by the two firms when Renault bought Caterham’s stake back last year.

We last saw an Alpine concept in 2012 with the A110-50 which used the Renault Megane Trophy’s V6 engine. It is thought, however, that the tradition of lesser power and lighter cars means a four-cylinder engine is more likely, meaning the possibility of the Renaultsport Megane’s 250bhp 2.0-litre engine.

Alpine’s design boss, Antony Villain, has said, “We envisaged the Alpine Celebration show car as the crowning glory of six decades of Alpine style and motor racing. But we wanted to go even further by reaching out to a much broader audience.” The Celebration is therefor hugely important for the company to firmly put Alpine’s name back on the map.

Senior members of Renault have already pinned the importance of this car, stating that is must be Alpine’s signature model, Van den Acker said, “I feel the car really needs to create the foundation of Alpine. We need to create the 911 of Alpine. If we do that properly then we can consider cars like the Panamera.”

The Alpine Celebration is expected to appear next at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where a 60 year celebratory Alpine display is set to take place.